Thorgan Hazard is the only one absent, during training this Saturday morning in Tubize. The Dortmund midfielder suffered a direct hit against Denmark. Nacer Chadli, who complained about the calf and had been forfeited against the Danes, is also present.
The session started with a moment reserved for Dries Mertens, who celebrated his 100th cap Thursday against Denmark. After a team photo, the Napoli player had to pass through the whole squad, who gave him a few friendly pats on the back. In a jovial atmosphere, the players tried a little contest which consisted of putting the ball in a trash can after a series of heads. The Devils did it three times but did not succeed.
Back in Belgium on the night of Thursday to Friday, in the wake of its victory in Copenhagen against Denmark (1-2), the national team is preparing its last group match in its Brabant base camp. Initially, it was planned that the Devils would take the direction of Saint Petersburg without returning to Belgium. But the training conditions in the old Petrovski stadium and sanitary facilities were deemed insufficient by the Belgian staff.
The black-yellow-red delegation will leave Charleroi on Sunday around 1:30 p.m. and will reach the imperial city at the end of the afternoon. Note that the Red Devils will not train in Russia, preferring a last session in Tubize on Sunday morning.
First in its group B with 6 points, Belgium will have to take one more point against the Finns at the Krestovski stadium (9 p.m.) to make sure to finish first.
As a reminder, Roberto Martinez’s group is now only made up of 25 elements after the injury of Timothy Castagne, victim of six facial fractures in the victory against Russia (3-0) a week ago. The Leicester player has had successful surgery since then.
